Immuno-Oncology

Immunotherapy agents are delivering impressive results in a broad range of tumor types, reinforcing the excitement in research and investment circles for anticancer strategies that actively harness the immune system

The treatment landscape for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poised to undergo dramatic changes, as novel immunotherapies, second-generation targeted therapies, and new maintenance strategies continue to show promise in clinical trials.

Igor Puzanov, MD, medical oncologist, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses the rationale behind a phase Ib study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of T-VEC and ipilimumab in previously untreated, unresected stage IIIB-IV melanoma.

The PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab and the second-generation ALK inhibitor alectinib have each gained their first approvals as treatments for patients in Japan.

Abraham Chachoua, MD, The Jay and Isabel Fine Associate Professor of Oncology, NYU Langone Medical Center, associate director, Cancer Services, Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, discusses ongoing clinical trials at NYU that are evaluating immunotherapy in patients with lung cancer.

Joseph Jurcic, MD, head, Hematologic Malignancies, Columbia University Medical Center, discusses the next steps for research into radioimmunotherapy.

Frontline treatment with the anti-PD-1 agent nivolumab significantly extended overall survival when compared with dacarbazine for patients with metastatic or unresectable melanoma.

When Franco Muggia, MD, was a freshly minted oncologist 50 years ago, his new colleagues warned him not to waste much time learning about a drug like fluorouracil.

Edith A. Perez, MD, discusses a genomic analysis of immune function genes and clinical outcome in the NCCTG (Alliance) N9831 adjuvant trastuzumab trial.

The concept of manipulating the immune system to treat cancer has experienced waxing and waning levels of enthusiasm over decades of clinical investigation.

Mario Sznol, MD, professor, Internal Medicine, Yale Cancer Center, discusses a phase I trial that examined the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab for the treatment of advanced melanoma.

The anti-PD-1 humanized antibody pembrolizumab has robust antitumor activity as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced PD-L1-positive NSCLC.

Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Giant of Cancer Care, discusses the initial efficacy and safety results from the EORTC 18071 phase III trial, which looked at ipilimumab versus placebo after complete resection of stage III melanoma.

Long-term follow-up results demonstrated nearly doubled median OS with the combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab compared with either agent alone.

Two patients with metastatic cervical cancer achieved durable complete responses that have so far lasted from 15 to 22 months through an adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT) targeting the human papillomavirus (HPV) in a study that researchers say supports the concept that the experimental immunotherapy approach may be beneficial in a variety of tumor types.

The anti-PD 1 checkpoint inhibitor, pembrolizumab, continues to deliver impressive results in patients with advanced melanoma-producing long-lasting responses and improved overall survival, regardless of whether patients have been previously treated with ipilimumab.

The immunotherapy drug ipilimumab reduced the relative risk of cancer recurrence in the adjuvant setting by 25% compared to placebo for patients with high-risk, lymph-node positive melanoma.